Louisville forward Monique Reid shoots against California forward Gennifer Brandon during the second half in the NCAA semifinals at the New Orleans Arena on Sunday. / Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

by Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY Sports

by Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY Sports

NEW ORLEANS â?? All throughout the women's NCAA tournament, destiny has seemingly been on Louisville's side.

Along the way, the Cardinals improbably knocked off defending champ Baylor, put away eight-time national champ Tennessee with ease and became only the second No. 5 seed to reach the national semifinals. Then against California on Sunday, they made history becoming the lowest-seeded team to win a national semifinal.

With a 64-57 win, Louisville secured a spot in Tuesday's national championship game against Connecticut, which beat Notre Dame 83-65.

UConn, which beat the Irish for the first time in four tries this season, was led by freshman forward Breanna Stewart's 29 points, a career high, and four blocks.

The women will have an all Big East title game. With the men's team also in the championship game, Louisville is hoping to pull off a rare double-double. Only one school, Connecticut in 2004, has won both the men's and women's titles in the same season.

This season the Cardinals lost to UConn, 72-58.

Soon after the game, Louisville coach Jeff Walz wasn't ready to talk about the heavy challenge ahead. "We're going to enjoy this and go on Bourbon Street as long as they're back by 2, we're OK," he said of the team curfew.

"We got a problem. Louisville really thinks they're the best team in the country right now," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said about the confident Cardinals. "They probably think it would be a huge upset if we win that."

After trailing by 10 at the half, Louisville took its first lead since early in the the game with less than four minutes remaining and held on in a frenzied finish. Antonita Slaughter led all scorers with 18 points, followed by Bria Smith's 17. Slaughter hit 60% from three-point range, nailing six-of-10. In the end, the Bears were undone by 19 turnovers.

"Tonight, we're down by 10 at half and then we just chipped away and chipped away," Walz said. "Once we took our first lead I saw it in our kids' eyes. We can do this."

The Cardinals' only other Final Four trip was in 2009 behind Angel McCoughtry, which ended in a loss to UConn in the championship game.

Louisville's run in the tournament is as improbable as the team itself. The most exciting player throughout their journey had been Louisville guard Shoni Schimmel, but on Sunday, she took more of a complementary role than a starring one. She was held to 10 points with six assists. Instead, her younger sister, Jude, had more of an impact.

The Schimmels might be the most intriguing story in the Final Four. They grew up in Mission, Ore., on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Walz, too, is a bit of an atypical coach. With a speech impediment, he takes plenty of ribbing from his team about his stutter and dishes back just as much. He's also the polar opposite of the Cardinals better known men's coach.

Though both are at their respective Final Fours, the differences between Rick Pitino and Walz are about as wide as the Ohio River.

Walz is 41. Pitino is 60. Walz grew up in Kentucky and played at Northern Kentucky. Pitino is from New York and played at UMass.

Against California, on the biggest of stages on Sunday, Walz didn't do an an extreme makeover. He wore an open-collared shirt that looked like graph paper with red lines. "I'm wearing the same thing I always wear," Walz said. Which is certainly not a suit jacket or tie.

Auriemma, a fancy dresser himself, took a jab at Walz's attire. "He had an Italian table cloth for a shirt today," Auriemma joked. "I was going to hire him for my restaurant." (Then Auriemma praised him profusely: "I don't think there's anyone I respect more for their coaching ability than Jeff in our league.")

Walz would like to start a new trend, though. He's lobbying for sartorial change. "I'm trying to get it approved to be like a baseball coach and just wear a uniform," he said.

Even if Walz made Pitino cash, he likely wouldn't spend it on a wardrobe upgrade. Walz has a base salary of $700,775, with $8,000 in endorsements, according to his contract obtained by USA TODAY Sports. Pitino's base is $3.9 million with $602,500 in endorsements.

Walz views the soon-to-be Hall of Famer as a mentor of sorts â?? in all areas but fashion. "If I've got a basketball question, I can pick up the phone and call him," Walz said.

Now both are hoping to win a national title. They texted each other Saturday, passing on wishes of good luck.